


Grant Ward and The Craziness That Follows

by my_failed_gay_ships03



Series: Agent Grant Ward of SHIELD [3]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Dad Phil Coulson, Grant Ward Isn't Hydra, Grant Ward needs a Hug, How Do I Tag, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Multi, No Smut, Past Abuse, Sorry Not Sorry, no beta we die like (wo)men, what is canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-07
Updated: 2020-10-25
Packaged: 2021-03-07 03:46:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26346571
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/my_failed_gay_ships03/pseuds/my_failed_gay_ships03
Summary: Sequel to Grant Ward Agent of SHIELD, and I suggest reading that firstGrant and his adventures with his crazy dad, his scary aunt(s),(the title is workshop)CURRENTLY ON HIATUS UNTIL I GET INSPIRATION
Relationships: Bus kids - Relationship, Clint Barton & Grant Ward, Grant Ward & Agents of SHIELD Team, Natasha Romanov & Grant Ward, Phil Coulson & Grant Ward, Phil Coulson/Melinda May, Steve Rogers & Grant Ward, Steve Rogers/Bucky Barnes (background)
Series: Agent Grant Ward of SHIELD [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1911667
Kudos: 17





	1. Captain America

Grant approached the door to his meeting, flashing his card at the guard. The man nodded, letting him through. 

Grant Ward was now a highly respected agent, with everyone knowing what the level five agent had done for them as he posed as a cadet. 

His mission had ended last year, with him exposing Alexander Pierce as the top of the SHIELD/HYDRA mission.

Garret was in custody, and Pierce was being held under close supervision. 

HYDRA was still around, of course, and in their eyes, he was a traitor. But he was perfectly fine with that. 

Seeing Garret’s face was worth it. 

_“You have no proof I am HYDRA,” Garret said smugly. Phil and Hill exchanged a glance. “No one would speak against me!”_

_“One agent did. Kid, come out of the corner,” Phil grinned. ,_

_Grant stepped out, smirking. Garret’s features spread into shock and realization._

_“NO!” Garret snarled, struggling against his bonds. “I trusted you!”_

_“No, you let an 18-year-old into your ranks and attempted to emotionally and physically traumatize them. You let a young adult weave his way through your ranks before he promptly took you down.” Hill glowered at him. “Serves you right.”_

_“You’re the one who told me never to trust anyone,” Grant shrugged, smirking._

_“I’M GONNA KILL YOU!”_

“Good to see you, kid,” Nat hugged her nephew when he entered the room.

He hadn’t seen Natasha in a long time. He still saw Clint nearly every day, but he hadn’t seen his Mom/Aunt in forever. 

“You too, Nat,” He smiled. “What can I help you all with?” He smiled at everyone in the room before his gaze landed on a face he didn’t know personally, but that every child in America knew. “No way,” He breathed.

“Agent Ward, meet Captain Rogers,” Hill smirked. “We figured you had a little in common, with the whole ‘we both took down HYDRA, but not really’ thing. And you’re about the same age because of the, uh, ice thing.”

“I heard about that,” Steve stood up, holding his hand out. “Your country owes you a great debt.” Grant shook the man’s hand, still staring at him in shock. 

“You’re actually Captain America?” He scanned the man’s face. He chuckled nodding. 

“I think so,” He joked. 

“I know someone who would have loved to meet you,” His smile went sad for a moment before he grinned again. “Is he like my charge or something?” 

“You’re going to show Captain Rogers a little about the new world,” Fury rolled his eye.

“So, essentially, yes,” Phil joked from where he was sitting next to May. Grant internally sighed. Six years now. How he could stand it, he didn’t know. 

“Cool!” He turned back to the Captain. “Do I call you Captain, Rogers, America…?” He looked at the man who chuckled. 

“Just Steve works.” 

“Then I’m Just Grant,” He joked. “I’ve heard a lot about you, Steve,” He shot a glance at his dad behind the man, who froze, shaking his head. “I have met a lot of fangirls and fanboys alike for you.” He smirked. 

“Oh,” Steve blushed. “I don’t deserve that,”

“But you’re a hero, Stevie!” He led the man out of the room. 

“I’m gonna regret letting him do this, aren’t I?” Coulson groaned.  
“Yep,” Hill grinned at him.

“I… don’t understand. What is the humor in a man falling off his roof?” Steve turned to Grant, who sighed. He’d tried showing him an epic fail compilation, receiving no reaction but concern. 

“You’ve got a lot to learn, Steve.” He sighed, pretending to shake his head. 

He didn’t know where all this positivity, happiness, and confidence had come from, but he wouldn’t complain.

“Clearly,” Steve chuckled. “So, it seems you know everything about me, but I don’t know anything about you except your a secret hero.”

“Not much to know. Fury and Dad, er, Coulson, tracked me down when I was 14, and recruited me. Nat and Clint trained me; I became our youngest SHIELD agent at 16. I infiltrated the academy, and took down HYDRA.” 

“That sounds like what you probably know about me,” Steve leaned forward. “You don’t have to tell me everything, but I would like to be your friend, Grant.” Grant looked down.  
“Okay,” He smiled at the other man. “But not quite yet. We’re not at that level.” 

“That’s fine.” Steve nodded. 

“I’ve seen men together.” Steve blurted one day. “I’ve seen men and men, and women and women holding hands,” He continued. “And kissing. Is-Is that allowed now?” 

Grant feared that his new friend might be homophobic for a split second, which would suck for his bisexual soul, but he noticed the hope in Steve’s eyes. He smiled.  
“Was there someone?” He questioned Steve softly, who hesitantly nodded.

“Bucky Barnes. It’s okay now?” He looked at the shorter man. 

“I knew it,” He hissed quietly. “Yes, and it’s okay, Steve. Gay marriage still isn’t legal everywhere, but it is here, in New York.” He smiled at Steve. 

“You don’t think I’m a freak?” Steve looked young at that moment, despite being the same age as Grant. 

“I’d be a hypocrite if I did.” He chuckled weakly. “When I was 18, I fell in love.” He smiled. “His name was Jesse,” He turned to Steve fully now. “But I called him Jess.”

“Did it not work out?” Steve tilted his head. 

“You could say that,” Grant looked down. “HYDRA killed him. They questioned my loyalty, and felt the best course of action was to sever my tie to SHIELD.” 

“I’m sorry,” Steve looked down. 

“You had nothing to do with it.” 

“Still,” Steve shrugged. “Neither of you deserved that,” 

Grant Ward was best friends with Steve Rogers. When had his life gone from on the streets to watching How To Train Your Dragon at a government building with his feet on freaking Captain America’s lap?

His life felt surreal, so he, of course, knew it wouldn’t last.

Steve would decide Grant wasn’t worth his time, or turn on him, or something would happen to Steve. 

Sure, nothing had happened to the three people who raised Grant (yet), but everyone else had gotten hurt or abandoned him.

When the movie ended, Steve went on a tangent about how much he liked the movie and related to it. 

He was also told he wasn’t worth much for being skinny and weak, but he took a chance and helped save people. 

It was kind of endearing, but not precisely what Grant was in the mood for. 

“Are you okay?” Steve stopped ranting to glance at Grant.

“Just feeling off today, that’s all.” Grant shrugged. “No big deal,”

“If you need someone to talk to, I’m here, yeah?” Steve’s voice was reassuring. 

“Yeah. I know.”


	2. He's... dead?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grant comes back from a mission, but a very important person is gone.

Grant was in France when it happened. It wasn’t uncommon for him to go out of the country; that was his whole job as a specialist. 

But he missed the battle of New York. 

When he got back, Clint immeadiatly greeted him with a hug.

“Umm… good to see you to Clint, but I was only gone for two weeks.” When Clint pulled away, tears were streaming down his face. “Clint?” 

“Son, why don’t we talk?” Grant whipped around as Steve and Nat appeared out of nowhere. 

“Steve, we’re the same age.” He glanced to his side as Tony Stark and Bruce Banner walked near them. 

“Who’s this dude? Why is he worthy of our attention?” Tony joked. 

“Tony,” Bruce shook his head. Bruce and Grant had met in India once, so the man knew who he was. 

“This is Agent Grant Ward,” Natasha introduced. “He took HYDRA down in SHIELD, and is Coulson’s son.” She hissed the last part. “We were about to tell him what happened.” 

“Shit…” Stark whispered.

“What happened?” He scrunched his eyebrows together. “Wait, yeah, where is dad?” He turned to Clint again. 

Tears were streaming down Nat’s face. Grant froze. 

“No,” He shook his head. “Nat, Steve?” He begged. “This is a sick joke, right? He’s probably standing in some dark corner so he can walk up and punk us!” He yelled, stepping back from the group of Avengers. 

“Grant, calm down,” Natasha begged.

“No! Where is he?” He demanded, looking around the room, growing frantic.

He couldn’t lose his dad. Dana, Jesse, now his father too? 

Steve placed a hand on his chest. “Stop, Grant.” He spoke firmly. “I think you should have these, not me. He had them on him when he…” He trailed off, looking down. He held out a stack of cards. 

Grant sucked in a breath, taking them. Blood splattered Captain America cards. His dad would never let these get messed up. Not while he was still living. 

He backed into a wall. Tony Stark and Bruce Banner exited. 

“No,” He shook his head. “No, he can’t be dead.” He whispered, sliding down the wall. “No, he can’t be dead.” He felt tears streaming down his face. “What happened to him?” He demanded. “W-Were his last words as heroic as he’d hoped?” He sobbed. 

Clint sat down next to him, wrapping him in a hug. Nat crouched in front of him, while Steve leaned against a table, a sad look in his eyes. 

“He was going to apprehend Loki after he got out of containment. Loki stabbed him through the chest.” Grant sucked in a breath. “He was a hero, Grant.” 

“I knew that,” Grant shook his head. “I always knew that he was a hero. But heroes don’t deserve the crap that happens to them.”

“I don’t know what he wanted his last words to be, but I’d say they were pretty damn heroic.” Steve chipped in.   
Grant chuckled, wiping tears from his face. 

“Good,” He nodded. “Well, I guess we just have to keep going,” Ward stood up.

“How?” Steve asked incredulously. 

“People die,” Ward looked down. “Like my mom, or my little brother, or Jesse, or my dad in everything but blood, but I don’t.” He shrugged. “So I have to keep going to make them proud.”

“God you’re strong, my младший,” Nat shook her head. “Come here,” She hugged him. 

“He wouldn’t want me to wallow in self-pity.” Ward shrugged.

Really, he just didn't want to deal with his father's death. He'd much rather wallow in self-pity, please, and thank you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The transition from Grant to Ward was intentional, btw.
> 
> Thank you for reading my stories!!! I appreciate all of you!!


	3. Phil Coulson

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a super short filler chapter, so bear with me. In google docs, it's only a page, but we're gonna work with it.

“I want Agent Ward on my team,” Coulson decided. Hill looked at him incredulously. 

“He’s not even level 7! He’s not supposed to know you’re alive, and even then, the personal connection could get in the way of missions.” 

“Fitz-Simmons are level 5.” Coulson shrugged. “And if he punches me in the face for doing this, I deserve it.” He looked down. “Are we sure I can’t tell Clint and Nat?” He begged.

“Coulson…” Hill sighed. “We’ve talked about this. “They would tell Steve, then Stark would realize they had a secret and draw it out of them, and the whole point was to bring the Avengers together.”

“I know, I know,” Coulson sighed. “At least let me tell Ward?” He begged. Hill sighed before nodding.

“Alright, but I don’t know if having him on your team is a good idea,” She continued.

“What, why?” Coulson tilted his head in confusion. “He was trained once by Romanoff, Barton, and myself, and again by Garret, and has the highest stealth and combat skills since Romanoff.” Hill sighed as Coulson continued. “And not only that, but he’s always been friendly and good at putting people at ease.” Hill winced. “Hill?”

Hill sighed, handing Coulson Grant’s file.

“Is… is this a poop with knives sticking out of it?” Coulson tilted his head at the sheet. Hill glared at him. 

“No, it’s a porcupine. Ever since you ‘died’ he’s been a very prickly person. He only takes to Barton, Romanoff, Rogers, and reports back to Fury and I. Other than that, he’s cut himself off from the world.” Coulson frowned. “He doesn’t work well with others anymore.” She shrugged.

“I’m sure we can remedy that,” Coulson stated firmly. Hill sighed but nodded.


	4. Pilot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Pilot episode, but Ward's perspective only, and no HYDRA plotting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is double the longest chapter in the first book, so I guess that's cool? Enjoy!

Ward stared across the table at Maria Hill. She leaned forward. “What does SHIELD stand for, Agent Ward?” She cringed internally. He’d asked to be called Ward or Agent Ward ever since Coulson died. 

“Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division.” He responded quickly. He’d known that since he was 14. 

“And what does that mean to you?” Hill leaned back into her seat. 

Ward smirked as he remembered what Fury had said to him 16 years ago. “It means someone really wanted our initials to spell out shield.” Hill was not amused. Ward shifted. “It means we’re the line between the world… and the much weirder world. We protect people from the news they aren’t ready to hear. And, when we can’t do that, we keep them safe.  
Ward pulled the alien tech from his previous mission out of his pocket, placing it on the table. “Something turns up, like this Chitauri neural link…” He pushed it to Hill. “We get to it before someone bad does.” 

Hill grabbed the artifact, glancing at it. “Any idea who Vanchant was planning to sell this to?” Yes. Possibly HYDRA, though it seemed unlikely. HYDRA had gone into hiding after being removed from SHIELD.

Hill handed the artifact off. “I’m more interested in how this Rising Tide group found out about it.” He sighed. “I thought they were just hackers. What changed?” 

“Everything’s changing.” She shot him a look. “A while ago, people thought the craziest thing was a billionaire in a flying suit. Now they worry about aliens, a giant green monster,” Grant frowned at that. Bruce wasn’t a monster. “A costumed hero from the 40s, and a God.” 

Ward tilted his head. “I don’t think Thor’s technically a god.”

“Well, you haven’t been near his arms,” She muttered under her breath. “Look, the Battle of New York,” Ward winced. Touchy subject. “Was the end of the world. This is the new world, with stuff people aren’t ready for.”

“Why did you take me out of Paris?” He demanded, now knowing why she was reminding him of things he knew, and why she brought him back to a place he’d rather forget. 

“That you’ll have to ask Agent Coulson.” 

Ward glowered at her. The absolute gall of her. “Hill, not only am a level six, but I know my dad died right before the Battle of New York.” He spat.

“Welcome to Level Seven.”

Ward whipped around in shock. He stared at his dead (not-dead?) father in shock and slight awe. Phil smiled shyly. 

“Sorry, that corner was really dark, I couldn’t help myself.” Ward continued to stare at him. “I think there might be a bulb out of something.” He joked, smiling at his son.  
Ward said nothing, his expression of shock morphing to one of anger. 

“Grant? Son?” Phil asked tentatively. 

Ward saw red, and the next thing he knew two other agents were dragging him off his father, who had the decency to look ashamed. “HOW COULD YOU?” He yelled, fighting against the agents. 

“Grant…” Coulson rubbed his cheek. 

“Who else knows?” He begged. “Cint? Nat? Fury? Anyone?” 

“Fury, and that’s about it. My doctor, a couple higher up agents.” Ward scowled at him. “But Clint, Nat, and the Avengers don’t know.” 

Ward fell back, shaking his head in shock. 

“Fury faked your death… to motivate the Avengers?” Ward spoke in disbelief as they went through a sealed door. 

“Death of a common enemy.” Hill shrugged, though she seemed apologetic. “An effective team builder.” Ward shot her a glare. She winced. 

“It wasn’t that much of a stretch. I stopped breathing for about 40 seconds.” Ward sucked in a breath.

“8,” Hill said to Ward, before turning to Phil. “It gets longer every time you tell it.” She shook her head. 

“You gent shanked by a crazy Asgardian, you can tell it your way. I was looking at the big white light, and it felt a lot longer than 8 seconds.” Ward frowned, looking down.  
He and Phil both received clip-on badges, and the trio began walking again. 

“The Avengers don’t know Fury played them?” 

“They’re not level 7?” Hill defended. 

“Pretty sure Nat and Clint are.” Ward gave her a look, which she ignored as Phil continued his story. 

“Got out of the ICU and get stuck in Tahiti. It was horrible Mai Tais, Travis McGee novels, and a physical therapist whose command of English was...irrelevant.” Ward rolled his eyes at his father. He was the same, but at the same time… different.

“So why are you back?” Ward didn’t mean to sound as venomous as he did, but he felt a sense of satisfaction at seeing Phil cringe back. 

A beep sounded when they entered the next room, and footage of a man saving a woman from a burning building played. By jumping out the window and landing flawlessly. 

“What is that?” He turned to the screen. 

“That’s a superhero, Grant.” Phil grinned. Not yet, it wasn’t.

“An unregistered gifted. Identity Unknown.” Hill corrected.

The following exchange was an awkward discussion about how Ward’s social skills had died over the past year. It ended with Grant snapping at Phil. 

“I’m sorry my father dying and me not knowing it happened until almost a week later changed me.” He spat, storming away. 

Ward walked up to the plane, looking around the area. He walked toward the lab when he heard two young adults bickering. 

They both had accents, the girl’s easily being identified as British, while Ward guessed the boy was Scottish. 

Ward watched them argue over the ‘Night Night Gun’ in amusement for a while, before he put his blank face back on, dropping his bag on the ground to get their attention.  
They both turned to him in confusion.

“Fitz-Simmons?” He raised an eyebrow at them. Were they married? Were they siblings? Were they secretly the same person separated into two bodies, because that wouldn’t surprise him at this point. 

“Eh, Fitz,” The Girl pointed at the boy, now known to be Fitz.

“Simmons,” Fitz then pointed at the girl. “I’m engineering, she’s biochem. Agent Ward?” He asked Ward, confirming his identity. 

Ward nodded, pulling his comm receiver out of his jacket. 

“Da- Coulson said I’d need this encoded.” He held it out. Fitz grabbed it from him. “I don’t know if you’ve worked with that model before. It’s-” He was cut off by Ward smashing the device with a hammer, sending pieces flying. “Brand new,” He frowned.

The two explained how the new device would work when the sound of tires squealing filled the air. 

Ward hadn’t heard that sound in a long time and felt a smile spread across his face.

“One of Coulson’s old SHIELD collectibles,” Fitz said from next to Grant. “Flamethrowers, the world’s first GPS. He’s mad for this crap.” Ward suppressed a snort. The kid had no idea. 

“Don’t touch Lola,” Phil warned an agent as he got out of the car. 

Fitz grinned at Ward. “And he calls it a girl’s name.” He nudged Ward. Ward’s gaze was serious as he turned to Fitz.  
“Don’t insult Lola.” He kept his voice low. Fitz froze, paling slightly. Ward smirked at him, causing his body to un-tense. “That car has been through a lot alongside Coulson and me.” 

“You helped take HYDRA down, right?” Fitz tilted his head. Ward nodded. 

“Yeah. That’s me. Grant Ward, the man who beat HYDRA.” He sighed. 

“Hey, did you hear the one about the guy who’s afraid of flying?” Phil turned to Grant as the two walked in silence, trying to start up a conversation.

“You’ve told me that one already,” Ward said shortly, moving ahead of his father. 

"Oh," Phil stopped, looking down slightly.

Melinda May stepped out, glaring at them. “If you plan to unpack, make it quick.” Ward looked between the two wide-eyed. Had May known? Was she as angry as Ward was?

“Hey, May,” Ward spoke up, smiling at her, Her expression softened. 

“Hey, kid.” She nodded at him, before turning back to Phil. “Wheels up in five.”

Ward watched their exchange with wide eyes. “Did she know? And why are you pulling her back into the field?” He turned to Phil again, who kept a blank face. 

“She’s just the pilot, and she’s here because even if she’s angry, we’re still friends.”

“Right, Melinda May is ‘just the pilot’, and you two were always ‘just friends’. I’m not buying it, Coulson.” He spat, walking away. 

Coulson stared after him sadly. They had a long way to go. 

“You guys are making a big mistake.” The girl begged. 

“You don’t look that big,” Ward scoffed. She glared at him, before composing herself. Ward rolled his eyes, walking away. 

“Okay, there are two ways we can do this.” He announced upon his return from the corner of the room. 

“Is one of them the easy way?” The girl teased. Ward kept his face even. 

“No.”

“Oh,” The girl faltered. 

“What’s your name?” Coulson started simple. Ward rolled his eyes. Why not just-

“Skye,” She stated. 

“What’s your real name?” Ward demanded. 

“That can wait,” Coulson said firmly. Ward clenched his fist, zoning out slightly. 

Coulson couldn’t pretend to be dead for a year and then just come back as if nothing had changed, and criticize him for being a bit emotionally unstable now.

The nerve of it all.

And now he sounded like an old man.”You being on the scene right before it went up in flames,” Snapped him out of his trance, and he turned back to the interrogation.  
“Want to tell me what my team is gonna find out?” Coulson leaned forward. Skye looked shocked. “How did you know the hooded man was in the building?” Coulson questioned softly. Ward rolled his eyes. 

“Did you blow it up to draw him out?” He demanded. 

“Did you?” Skye shot back. 

“That’s not our style.”

“I was just kidnapped by your ‘style’. SHIELD covered up New Mexico, Project Pegasus. Of course, you’d be covering up Centipede.” Ward tensed, shooting a look at Coulson. He’d heard of Centipede in HYDRA. 

He mouthed it again, giving Skye the wrong idea. 

“No way. You don’t know what this is?” As she went on a tangent about them not knowing about something they knew a bit about, Ward grew more frustrated.

“What is Centipede?” he demanded. 

“Chatter on the web before it disappeared.” Skye shrugged. Ward groaned internally. She didn’t know much more than he did. 

“What were you after?” He demanded. 

“The truth. What about you?” 

“Peace. And you hackers love to stir things up.” He stood up, Skye looked shocked. “But you’re not there for the fallout. People keep secrets for a reason, Skye.” He spat. 

“Just because you’re reasonable and… firm…” Ward wanted to gag. He was not interested. Technically she was attractive. But she was one of them. “Doesn’t mean you’re not an evil faceless government tool bag.” 

“Just give us your guy's name!” He raised his voice. 

“He’s not my guy!” 

“You understand he’s in danger.” Coulson narrowed his eyes.

“Then let me talk to him, not T-1000 here!” Ward frit his teeth. 

“You want to be alone with him Of course. She’s a groupie.” He turned to look at his… ex-dad? “All this hacking into SHIELD, tracking powers, she might as well be one of those sweaty cosplay girls crowding Stark Tower.” He knew from experience. 

They were nasty. 

“What?!? I would- it was one time.” She whispered the rest. Ward's eyes widened, but he scoffed nonetheless. What the hell was this girl?

“Ward,” Coulson stated firmly, gesturing to the door. 

Ward was so done with everything. Coulson had given him truth serum, leaving a spy at the hands of a stupid hacker. 

He had secrets of national security, so he had to be careful with what he said. 

He passed out shortly after, post telling Skye how he was happy Coulson was back because the man had been like a father to him, but he was also beyond pissed at him and wished he’d stayed in Tahiti a little longer.

By the end of the mission, he was honestly exhausted. He got an alert and quickly called Coulson as Fitz-Simmons chilled near him. 

“Go.” Coulson nodded. 

“We’ve got an 0-8-4.” 

“Is that confirmed?” 

“They want us to confirm it.” Coulson hung up. Fitz clapped Ward on the shoulder, causing him to shift.

He was going to have to get used to this.

Yay.


	5. Not an Update: IMPORTANT

I just started school, and won't be updating as often. 

I'm still going to update every week, maybe twice a week, but I don't have 9 hours of nothing to do anymore. I'm going to do my best to keep updating

EDIT: Okay, I lied. I've been adjusting to school, and homework, and haven't updated in 20 days or something. I'm sorry. I'm working on chapter 5 right now, and will try to have it out by next week, but updates are going to be a lot slower than they were. 

However, I'll also use this as a chance to thank all the people who have read this and left kudos. Seeing that makes my day, which is why I'm working to get you the next chapter.

THANK YOU! 

P.S. Also, I did have time to write a short Harry Potter story, so if anyone likes that, go for it.


	6. 0-8-4 Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, this is the 1st half of the 0-8-4 episode. I made more personal changes to this one, so yeah.

“Skye is not qualified to be an agent.” Ward glared at Coulson. Coulson sighed.

“That’s why she’s here as a consultant,” Coulson smirked as May entered the room, scoffing. “SHIELD does it all the time!” Coulson defended. “Technically, Stark’s a consultant.”

The two field agents scoffed together. “And technically, Skye’s a member of the rising tide!” Ward’s voice rose. “She hacked our RSA implication-” He was about to rant when Coulson cut in.

“Twice, from a laptop.” He seemed giddy. “Imagine what she’ll do with our resources.”

“I am.” Ward deadpanned. “That’s exactly what I’m doing during this frown. You brought me on for risk assessment, she’s a risk.” He glared. “She doesn’t think like us.”

The last time that happened people died. A lot of people died.

“Exactly.” 

How could he be so calm about this?

“We have two kids not cleared for combat, and you’re adding a third.” May chipped in. Ward shot her a thankful look.

“And at least Fitz-Simmons are trained, SHIELD scientists. But Skye?” he spat. “You said this was a select team. Assembled to work cases, to protect people.” He listed them off. “I don’t see how letting some hacker tag along-”

“I’m looking for an objection I haven’t already anticipated.” He stated calmly. 

Ward would very much like to punch that smirk off his mouth. That stupid man who thought he could walk back into their lives as if nothing had changed, and criticize them.

“I’m calling this, but your frowns will be on the record.”

The two both scowled at him again.

“We’ve been called to investigate an 0-8-4, we all know what that means.” He reminded.

“Yes, we do. It means we don’t know what it means.” Coulson’s voice had gone heavy.

Ward nearly groaned when Coulson walked away. He maturely stomped away from his boss-dad. He then decided to go check in on the new girl. 

“Hey, I know we didn’t really-” Skye began. Ward just pushed a binder into her hands. 

“You may want to read that. This isn’t like other planes.” He glanced back, seeing Coulson looking hopefully at Ward talking to Skye. 

Nope. he quickly walked away.

They exited the SUV, looking around. Ward looked around, his gaze landing on some tracks behind them. 

“Tire tracks, 40 meters back. I’ll check them against the site’s trucks, make sure we’re alone.” He left, rolling his eyes as he heard them all talking. 

He got there, looking around. He pulled out a tablet, running a scan. They were either government or from the site. One was good, one was bad. 

He bit his lip, running the can again. They matched the professors. Walking back to the site, he saw May walking down the stairs. 

She smiled slightly at him. He nodded back.

“Tires match his truck,” He nodded to the Professor. He looked at his not-mom in concern. “Where’s your firearm, Melinda?” He asked her, worried.

“If I need a gun, I’ll take one.” She whispered.

“Right. Forgot you were the Calvary!” He sighed. He had lost everyone last year. Coulson had ‘died’, Nat and Clint moved to the Avenger’s Tower, and May went on the mission that changed her for good.

“Don’t ever call me that,” May whispered, shaking her head.

“I”m sorry,” Ward sighed. “I know you don’t like to talk about what happened in Bahrain. I’m glad Coulson brought you back, though. It’s nice to have someone I trust,” He smiled at her.

She smiled ever so slightly back. 

Of course, Ward had noticed the movement in the bush. Who do you think he is? So he reached into the bush, quickly yanking out a man in camo.

Two attacked May, but she easily disarmed them, aiming their guns at them.

May and Ward held guns to the people they’d disarmed as more poured out of trucks.

“Should have taken more guns.” Ward blinked. May scowled at him. A woman in camo exited a truck. She looked kind of familiar. Ward pulled out his walkie-talkie, not taking his eyes off the men. 

“Sir?” He growled into his comm.

“Go,” Coulson nodded. 

“We have a situation.” He decided on. Coulson hung up. 

Coulson exited the temple, walking towards the standoff. Ward sighed in relief when he saw him. Internally.

“Hola. Soy Agent Coulson.  Estamos aqui por un asunto de la seguridad internacional.” He spoke in choppy spanish. Ward nearly facepalmed.

“Phillip?” The woman gasped. Ward looked between them in confusion.

“Camilla, Do you mind?” Coulson gestured to Ward and May. 

“After you,” The woman nodded. Coulson looked at Ward, who pushed the man aside, putting his gun back in its holster.

May did the same. The soldiers lowered their guns as well.

“And now for a proper hello,” Camilla smiled, walking forward and kissing Coulson on both cheeks.

Ward nearly gagged, and May tensed.

“Comandante, a promotion. Congratulations.” Coulson smiled at her, causing her to beam back.

“It was three years ago, but thank you.” She giggled ever so slightly.

Coulson was still staring at her as he introduced May and Ward. “Agent Melinda May, Agent Grant Ward, this is Comandante Camilla Reyes, She’s with the Policia Militar Del Peru. We used to work together.”

May scoffed at his expression, looking to Ward, who just looked back at her with one of his bitch faces.

“Let the team know everything’s okay,” Coulson gestured to Ward, who nodded, walking with May to the temple.

“I’m going to go check on Coulson,” He heard Skye speak, as she exited the temple.

Stopping her, Ward shook his head. “We’ve got company. National Police.” They entered the temple.

“What?” Simmons asked, sounding worried.

“Why are they here?” Fitz agreed.

“They heard about the object, they’re probably here to protect it.” He walked over to the device, looking at it curiously. Looked almost HYDRA. “The area has a lot of rebel uprising.”

“Yeah, people are fighting back against the government’s mining policies. It’s pretty kick-ass.” Skye grinned. Ward scowled at her.

“Yeah, it’s kick-ass, all the violence.” He spat.

“That’s not what I’m saying.” Skye defended. He rolled his eyes.

“No, that’s what you’re typing, alone and safe in your van.” He turne d to Fitz-Simmons. “How much longer?”

“What’s the hurry?” Simmons tilted her head.

“Are we in any danger?” Fitz agreed.

“Not if everyone does their job.” He reassur ed the two young scientists, before turning to Skye. “What is yours, exactly?”

Skye diverted her gaze, giving Ward a sick sense of satisfaction.

He didn’t know why he was so determined to hate this girl, but he was.

Ward watched the two work, a small smile on his face, as long as he avoided acknowledging Skye’s existence when a loud explosion rocked the area.

On alert, he snapped. “Sounds like they’re engaging with rebels. Let’s go.” He made to exit the temple.

“The Rebels are coming for it! Let’s move!” He gestured anxiously.

He tried not to scream when the three started fighting over how to arrange crap.

“We need a containment case for the 0-8-4,” Simmons announced. Ward shot her a look, knowing that wasn’t going to happen.

“There’s no time.” He shook his head.

“It has a fluctuating power core, frequencies way above 10 exahertz.” That was a word Jesse had tried to teach him. He still did not know what it meant.

“Sorry, Science Class is over,” Ward growled as another explosion rocked the temple.

He began to pull on the device, freaking Fitz out, who tried to stop him.

He then pulled it completely off, enacting Fitz’s rage. “You did not just pull that off the wall! What is the matter with you!? Do you realize we don’t know the number of photon emissions coming out of this-”

Ward cut his rant off with a shove, moving them towards the door.

“Okay. We don’t know what it’ll do if it gets excited,” Fitz assented but tried to get his point across.

“Just stay close,” Ward warned the three kids.

As soon as they exited the temple, Ward began shooting at all the identifiable rebels he could see.

As the fire rained down on them, Ward made a tough decision. “Get back!” He warned, pushing the 3 kids back.

He pulled out what on first sight looks like a baton, letting it expand into more of a staff.

Half the men dropped to the ground, and Ward rolled off the temple, dropping to his knees in front of it.

He drove the cane into the ground, letting a small device fly out. Pressing a button, and an electro-shock rushed through the air, shocking the rebels and sending them flying.

One rebel aimed his gun at the three Ward had been protecting, causing the three of them to freeze.

Of course, May came to the rescue.

“Get in! Get in!” Ward waved them onto the SUV, hopping in himself. “Coulson’s fine, he’s in a PMP truck. Take the south route to the airfield.”

“Gotcha.” May agreed.

He could hear the science nerds and the stupid hacker being stupid in the backseat but was too focused on getting them to the airfield safely to stop them.

Though, when Simmons rolled down a window and Skye started screaming, he turned around. “Keep your heads down and stay quiet!” He hissed, turning back to May. “Left. The Ravine empties.”

“But, Ward-” Fitz began.

“QUIET!” Ward and May both reprimanded him.

“How fast can we go wheels up?” Ward asked May, eyes not leaving his tablet’s screen.

“Fast,” May responded simply. They skidded onto the Bus, all hopping out. Ward slammed his door behind him. “Ramp!” May shouted.

“Got it,” Ward nodded, activating said object.

“What are you doing?” Skye yelled. “Coulson’s still out there!”

Ward paused what he was doing to scowl at her. “Get out of the way. You’re going to get shot.” She hesitantly ran away.

May ran off to the cockpit, as Ward and the rebels had a shoot-off.

As Coulson, Camilla, and a couple of soldiers drove onto the plane, and the ramp slammed shut. 

“Cutting it a little close, dad,” Ward rolled his eyes, letting the old name slip through. He froze but said nothing at Coulson’s happy expression.

“Didn’t want to leave anyone behind.” He smiled softly at Ward.

“I miss my van,” Skye whispered. Ward facepalmed internally.

“What was the problem?” Ward turned to Fitz, putting his gun back on the holster.

“As I said before, this device has a high-frequency, fluctuating, sub-material compression –” Fitz began ranting, but Ward cut him off.

“English please, kid.”

“The 0-8-4 is fueled by Tesseract technology. Hydra. World War II. Captain America.” Ward tensed, exchanging a look with Coulson. “It’s full of lethal amounts of gamma radiation.”

“It’s nuclear?” Ward raised a brow.

“No. It’s worse.” Coulson said grimly.

Everyone glanced down at the bag with the device, slowly inching away slightly.

“Are you mental!?” Fitz scowled at Ward as they entered the lab. “I did explain in great detail, exactly what I meant using the Queen’s bloody English!” Ward raised an eyebrow.

“I use normal words. Like ‘duck’ and ‘run’ and ‘might blow us up’.” Ward shot back.

“Oh, congratulations Agent Ward!” Fitz clapped sarcastically. “You managed to string 3 words together! Someone get him an award!”

Ward would like to say he dealt with the 25-year-old like the responsible 30-year-old he was. That would be a lie.

They continued to bicker like children for at least 10 minutes. And the argument did not end on its own.

“I’m trying to tell you-” Fitz was saying as Ward again attacked Fitz’s vocabulary and accent. Coulson cut them both off.

“Do we have a problem here?”

He was using the dad voice and the boss voice at the same time. RIP Ward.

“No, sir. Just working on our communication. Some of us weren’t prepared for the fight. Or for any fight, as a matter of fact.” He glared at FitzSimmons.

“We got out. We didn’t lose anyone. We saved some of theirs. That’s a win.” Coulson continued using the dad stare on him. “Any questions?”

“Uh, yeah. I have got a small question. Because I’ve been feeling like the tagalong hayseed rookie, but now I get the sense that Ward doesn’t know which ones Simmons and which one’s Fitz, and they’ve seen even less gunfire than me, and I’m no rocket scientist, but is this your first mission together?” Skye scoffed.

Ward moved to speak up, but Simmons beat him to it. “Of course not! It’s our second.” She added sheepishly.

“I was your first? How sweet.” Skye laughed.

“So this is funny to you?” Ward glared at her.

“No! I’m terrified! But I’ve been one this team as long as any of you! I may as well be Team Captain!” She threw her hands in the air.

Everyone glared at her, and each other. 

“I was kidding, but maybe that’s not such a bad idea, because you guys seem to hate each other.”

“This is not about that. Not for me.” Ward shook his head. “Dad,” Eyes widened as he turned to Coulson. “I’m a spy, and I’m a specialist.”

“You’re a spy?” Skye spoke up, but she was ignored.

“Did he just call Agent Coulson Dad?” Fitz whispered to Simmons.

“I do my best work alone.” He saw Fitz and Simmons tense but continued. “I could have eliminated the threat if I was alone. But I had non-combat-ready _children_ -”

“You work alone?” Fitz scoffed.

“Typical!” Simmons exclaimed. “Who do you think designs your weapons, and equipment!”

“People like us, who aren't _children_ as you put it.” Fitz pointed to himself.

Ward tensed, memories coming back. He knew that people like them did that. And he knew someone like them.

“I’m completely aware of that,” Ward spoke softly. “You’re not the first scientist I’ve worked with, Fitz.”

“Oh?” Simmons raised an eyebrow, scoffing. “And who did you work with, oh great one?”

“His name was Jesse,” Ward began softly.

“There is no Jesse-” Fitz began, but Ward cut him off.

“And he was going to be great. He was a genius, with genius ideas. But because he was my best friend, he died before he graduated.” Everything went silent.

Coulson placed an arm on Ward’s shoulder.

“We still need to iron out our kinks. But, Ward, you can speak six languages. For God’s sake, you took down HYDRA near single-handedly. Simmons, you have two PhDs in fields I can’t pronounce, and Fitz, you are a rocket scientist. So work it out.” The three nodded.

“I-I’m good at stuff too!” Skye called after him, but Coulson was already gone.

Ward exited the room, discreetly wiping tears from his eyes. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to apologize for not posting in over 2 months. I lost my motivation for a while, went through a bit of a low, but I think I'm coming back. So thank you to anyone still reading and waiting for chapters!


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